President Sheikh Mohamed met on Friday with heads of delegations taking part in US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting, held at Al Shati Palace, brought together senior officials from the United States, Russia and Ukraine for trilateral discussions aimed at advancing peace efforts. Sheikh Mohamed said he hoped the talks would contribute to ending the conflict and reaffirmed the UAE’s long-standing approach of promoting dialogue and supporting diplomatic solutions to global crises, according to state news agency Wam.
The talks are being attended by US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Igor Kostyukov, head of the main directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Staff to the Ukrainian President and Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, along with other senior officials from both countries.
Sheikh Mohamed said the UAE supports all initiatives and endeavours aimed at achieving a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis.
Also present at the meeting were Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes’ Affairs; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Adviser to the UAE President; and a number of ministers and senior officials.
Earlier on Friday, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed the start of the two-day summit. He said he hoped the meeting would provide "tangible steps" towards ending the war.
Sheikh Abdullah said the UAE’s hosting of the talks reflected the international community’s confidence in its role in supporting peace efforts. He also praised the work of US President Donald Trump in enabling the high-level gathering, where negotiators are seeking progress towards halting the conflict.
He said the UAE believes lasting solutions can only be achieved through dialogue and de-escalation. The Emirates has mediated 17 prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine since the war began, leading to the release of 4,641 detainees.
Territorial issues remain central to the negotiations. Moscow has said Ukraine must give up the entire eastern Donbas region before fighting can stop. A senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, following talks between Putin and US envoys, that there was no prospect of ending the war until disagreements over territory were resolved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said the Donbas region would be a key issue. After meeting US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he told a media round-table that the discussions had been positive.
"The question of Donbas is key", he said.
"It will be discussed how the three sides ... see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow".
The Abu Dhabi summit is being closely watched, with analysts describing it as the first trilateral meeting since the start of the war. Karan Vassil, an analyst at intelligence company Sibylline, said it was a “notable development” but added that, rather than a peace deal, there was a “slightly higher prospect” of a moratorium on air and missile strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure.